}
I N N O VA T I O N c le a n t e ch
ALEXANDROS CHARALAMBIDES
to other solutions that are out there, and so on,” explains Hadjiphani. “And then they come to the national final with a complete pitch deck where they compete for the top three seats, which will take them to the Grand Final, where they’re competing with the other participating countries.” This year, ClimateLaunchpad has been extended to non-EU states like Australia, Bangladesh and Kenya and, thanks to its attractive coastal and urban offerings, Limassol will see ClimateLaunchpad’s Grand Final, an event hosted by Chrysalis LEAP and co-organized with the Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency. The semi-final pitching round will take place on October 17. This heat will determine the 15 teams that will then compete in the grand finale before a renowned jury on October 18, vying to be ranked in the top 10, with cash prizes of €10,000, €5,000 and €2,500 awarded to the top three. The top 10 finalists gain direct entry to Climate-KIC’s accelerator programme and access to substantial funding. Themed prizes and workshops will also be offered during the event.
a founder of Chrysalis Leap and National Finalist in 2016.
Four Seasons Portrait
110
GREEN CREDENTIALS Although the event will certainly boost Cyprus’s green credentials, another benefit to the island is the fact that, due to its EU infrastructure, it is attractive to players in regional startup hubs, such as Israel, through which to tap otherwise less-accessible markets. Then there’s the fact that an island as small as Cyprus, with easy access to both private and public agents, means a cleantech idea can be tested from start to finish efficiently, without the costly time lag encountered in more mature ecosystems such as London. For now, with Cyprus’s national finals taking place at the end of July at the headquarters of PwC – Chrysalis LEAP’s strategic partner for the third year running – the countdown to October’s ClimateLaunchpad endgame is running. And looking ahead, odds are Cyprus will continue to punch above its weight in the slowly-expanding cleantech sector. PwC Cyprus CEO Evgenios C Evgeniou stresses: “The power of innovation, when combined with entrepreneurship, can significantly contribute to our country’s economic prosperity and growth.” A similar optimism is echoed by Dutch Climate-KIC consultant and CleanLaunchpad trainer Ron Bloemers, who points out: “The level [of innovation] in Cyprus and Greece matches the average level in Europe; considering the fact that Cyprus and Greece became a startup ecosystem later than mainland Europe and the UK, that’s a major achievement.”
